I didn’t learn about emotional intelligence until well into my 30s. By that time, I had started to realize that the best leaders — those exhibiting high levels of EQ — typically showed more self-awareness, collaborated better with others, and got promoted faster.

There’s no question leading and working with emotional intelligence will get you far. While numerous books have been written on the topic, my picks below (in no particular order) cover what I would consider the most influential books on emotional intelligence.

Why do we think the way we do, and why does that matter? In this compelling yet easy-to-understand work, psychologist Daniel​ Kahneman (winner of the Nobel Prize in economics) explains how we can use emotion to think and make better decisions.

The aforementioned treatise by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves delivers a step-by-step program for increasing your EQ. It includes an online assessment to give you a baseline of your current EQ status. A great starter on EQ.

Bruna Martinuzzi connects familiar leadership strategies with EQ. Drawing on more than 25 years of leadership experience, this poetic and inspirational book conveys the key guidelines for the emotionally intelligent leadership needed for enduring success. It a must-have for leaders, people who work with leaders, or leaders developing leaders.

David R. Caruso and Peter Salovey detail a practical, four-part hierarchy of emotional skills — identifying emotions, using emotions to facilitate thinking, understanding emotions, and managing emotions — and show how we can measure, learn, and develop each of the skills and employ them in an integrated way to solve our most difficult work-related problems.

In this essential and illuminating book, top business strategist Dev Patnaik (along with Peter Mortensen) tells the story of how organizations of all kinds prosper when they tap into a power each of us already has: empathy, the ability to reach outside of ourselves and connect with other people.

Written by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, this is the seminal classic that solidified emotional intelligence in the business lexicon — affirming its importance as a needed leadership skill for the workplace.

Author David Rock researched the brain’s functions to help us understand ourselves and the human condition better. This book teaches us about our limitations and capacities, and how we can “direct” our own brain chemistry to achieve fulfillment and success.

An excellent resource on using EQ to build better relationships with just about everyone in your life, from an employee to a member of your family. Jeanne Segal shows you how to use basic tools of EQ to enhance communication, read nonverbal cues, and diffuse conflicts before they get out of hand.

First published in 1995, Daniel Goleman, the patriarch of EQ, offers extensive research and his own personal experience in examining why EQ is so important to our success and happiness. His ultimate message is for us to take care to nurture our children so that they will have a healthy emotional base as they grow.

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As founder of Leadership from the Core, Marcel Schwantes is a leading expert in helping companies develop exceptional servant leadership cultures where employees thrive and businesses flourish. He is an entrepreneur, executive coach, keynote speaker and syndicated columnist. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Check Your Emotions at the Door. Analytical Thinkers and EQ.

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